When Hearts Cry
by Dark MistressG
Summary: There's a new Queen of Grado and many of the people in Magvel wonder if she's capable of doing the job done right. But when Ephraim starts to dislike this girl, he only realizes that he's doing it to oppose his attraction. Can he snag her? Ephraim X OC


Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem, but one day, I would so love to. :)

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Soft drip drops of small water droplets fell down from a dungeon hallway's ceiling with a soft splash when it hit the concrete floor. Rats scurried along the outer edges of the hallway and scampered into their rat holes, escaping the light that was slowly shining down the hallway. A light haired priest was carrying a candle, the flame flickering back and forth all the while. The soft stepping of his feet as he continued down to the end of the hallway.

There was a large wooden door with a brass handle and a small key hole, about the size of a coin. The priest reached inside his robes and pulled out a brass key that matched the hole to which it belonged in. He pressed the key into the hole and turned it, then pushed the door open and went along into the room. There were soft whimpering and crying sounds from inside as he stepped into the darker room.

The light came across a girl with almost black hair, but you could see lighter strips of brown riding through them, though you could barely tell with all the dirt and grime covering her face. She was petite, and looking mal-nourished, her arms folded to her stomach in rags of clothing. She almost looked like a sack of laundry, and the only thing you could tell that made her seem alive was the bright and vivid violet eyes that blinked back tears.

The priest holding the candle looked at her with concern, his almost white hair falling into brilliant grey eyes. He wasn't old, he was rather young for a man such as him, with angled planes and a sharp nose, and he didn't look half bad either. He was slightly taller than average with a lithe form to top it all off.

"Have they come for me?" she asked quietly, almost fearful of the white and blue robed man.

"Not they, but me, now come quickly or we'll be caught," he spoke hoarsely, extending a hand to her. She seemed to spark at the sound of his voice and reached out to grab the hand in question. She was pulled to her feet and he hurried off down the hallway, dragging her along with him.

"Now I only got a few minutes leave Mi Lady, so you must hurry when we get out of here. You understand?" He said hastily as they reached the end of the hallway and went down to a branch of hallways. He took the farthest to the right and she followed quickly.

"Jonathan, I… How…?" she asked almost confused, as if she didn't know what she was going to ask.

"I bribed some of the guards, now we don't have much time. Mi Lady, hurry on up that ladder," he spoke a bit roughly as he pushed her to the ladder. She bumped into it clumsily and started to climb at a slow pace. Noises down the hallway were heard and she was almost at the top of the ladder. She pushed open a trap door at the ceiling and looked down at Jonathan.

"Aren't those soldiers?" She asked him with a slight look of concern. Jonathan looked down the hallway and then back up at her.

"Yes, I didn't intend for me to get away alive. Mi Lady, I have Corning outside waiting for you on his wyvern, I suggest you hurry," he replied crisply. The noises were getting louder and you could clearly identify the sound of metal clacking against the concrete.

"Is something going on?" Another voice inquired, making both look up to see a dark red head looking down at them.

"Corning, take Miss Ralena and hurry out of here," Jonathan urged.

Corning needed no other ushering and grasped the girl named Ralena and pulled her out of the hallway. Ralena struggled as she saw Jonathan being surrounded, and saw blasts of white magic issuing out of his hands. She saw Corning push the door shut and lock it with a large bolt before picking her up bridal style and carrying her to a green/blue wyvern. He placed her on the wyvern and she saw with ultimate precision as he got up on it next. He clicked his tongue against his mouth and the large beast rose into the air with a great flapping of its wings and took off. They were up and soaring when Ralena looked back to see the soldiers finally emerging and looking dazedly confused.

3 Years Later

Ephraim sat on his chair in the large dining room with his twin sister Eirika, looking slightly bored as he ate. Eirika ate her food delicately as she looked down at her food, looking almost as bored as he was. Ephraim sighed and pushed his plate away and getting up, causing his sister to look up in surprise as he stood and walked out of the room with a swish of his cloak.

He stopped in-front of a mirror in the hallway and looked at into the clear glass. He was a striking man to say the least, or so he was told. Having blue hair that fell into the blue eyes that he inherited from his father, the old king of Renais he was still a good looking man to say the least. He was tall, almost six feet in height and pretty well built, but no where near as built as his personal guards Kyle and Forde. He had a nicely angled face and full lips. He wore a dark blue shirt with blue pants that had armor on the outside of each shine, knee, and thigh. He also had a chest plate across his upper torso and arm guards on each arm. His blue cape was tied around his neck and swung with ease at each turn.

He continued to walk down the hallway and stopped abruptly and put his arm on the wall, leaning against it, and then putting his head on his arm. He was slightly anxious for the upcoming event. He knew the crowing for the new Empress of Grado was tomorrow, Princess Ralena, bastard daughter of the old emperor Viagarde. He sighed with anticipation, the only time he ever saw her was when she was about eleven and she was with her noble mother and her supposed father. She didn't know about her true parentage until she was fourteen and even then she didn't take much part in the royalty offered to her. She and Lyon were close, but Ephraim knew that the Emperor and his daughter were no where near as close, and knew that the king always envied the relationship.

"Ephraim, are you okay?" a soft voice asked. He picked up his head and turned to look at his sister, Eirika, who was shorter than him by five inches.

"Yes, I'm fine, just, anxious you know? I've only been king for a few weeks and now we have to announce another ruler for another country? I don't think I'm ready for that after us and Joshua," he said.

Eirika had the same hair and blue eyes as he did, but she wore a golden plate of armor in the places that his were blue, and not to mention she was much smaller than him. She had Siegliend sheathed at her side, one of the twin relics of Renais.

"Oh is that all?" she asked teasingly.

"Is that all? Eirika, you know I can't stand fancy gatherings and the entire getup we have to do. Not to mention, we don't even know this girl, for all we know she could be just as bad as the Demon King," Ephraim said. Eirika burst into laughter at what he said and held her sides with her hands as she laughed.

"Honestly Ephraim, don't you think you're over exaggerating?" She asked with a smile, her blue eyes sparkling from their recent laugh.

"Well it could be true! It seems that Grado is cursed!" He spoke.

"Needless to say, I'm sure this Princess Ralena is a perfectly charming person and not at all like her father. Remember? She had a different mother than Lyon, so she won't be the same," she replied archly.

Ephraim could see she was about to laugh again and he stomped his foot a little bit and walked away down the hallway. Sometimes, his twin could irk him in ways that not even these parties could.

Day of the Crowning

Ephraim was sitting on a velvet clad chair and sighed, feeling the outdoor breeze brush against his face. They were awaiting the Princess on the Terrace of the Grado Castle, and she had yet to arrive. Everyone was outside, including the people of Grado, awaiting their new ruler that was now to be a woman, and this was the first one in history to take the throne without a husband or ever having one.

He was about to say something when he noticed the doors behind him opened silently. He turned his head to the dark place behind the doors and held his breath in anticipation. A white clad foot stepped out of the door and then two forms were now into the entire light. There was a dark haired man in the Grado red uniform; he also had a sword on his hip as well, his arm escorting the girl beside him.

The female on his left arm was dressed in almost entire white and purple. She wore a long white dress, the top of the dress curving down to a low cut over her chest to show off some ample cleavage. The area around her stomach was tight and taut with little sparkles shining in the bright light along her mid-section; the bottom flowed out into a full dress, swirling about her legs elegantly as she walked. She had a sword tapered to her side as well, but this was slimmer than the man's and it was in a shining gold sheath.

When he actually looked at her face, he saw not a trace of the old Emperor in her face, except the vivid violet eyes that shone intelligently back at him. She had long flowing black hair with dark brown highlights edging their way through her straight hair that was done up in a fancy bun. She was short, about 5'2ft, but with a luscious body to boot.

The man and the woman, probably Ralena, stopped at the railing of the terrace and she looked out over and into the sea of people. She stood tall and proud, almost as if nothing could bring her down in her moment of glory, this time was _hers_ it seemed. She turned to the Advisor of the last Emperor and she smiled slightly at the Tiara now on a cushion in the hands of a boy next to her.

The Advisor picked up the small crown and Ralena tilted her head and smiled once more before bending her knees and tilting her head towards him so he could place it on her head. He did so and she rose to look over at her new people once again, a triumphant smile on her face and Ephraim knew that she was cocky and just like everyone else.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, People of Grado, I present to you, your new Queen, Queen Ralena!" He exclaimed into the crowd. The people cheered, but it was obvious that they didn't like their new ruler as much as their old one. They soon quieted when they saw Ralena raise her hand.

"I have a few words to say…" She spoke, her voice soprano, but very musical and enchanting. "I'm not going to bore you with a lecture like many of the other chosen might have done, I only want to say that I hope to lead you well and that you'll accept me as I have you. You are my people, and if you need to tell me anything, but keep in mind in a nice manner, about something I'm doing wrong, I will do my best to change it. I may not do what you yourself may like, but I'm doing what I think is right for you all in general. So I hope I do a good job as your Queen, thank-you."

She stepped down and turned around, the people were cheering again, with more enthusiasm as she walked back to the doors from before. She was being escorted by the Advisor this time and when she passed Ephraim, she turned to look at him and their eyes clashed. He now knew his first estimate about her was wrong, she was going to be a trouble maker; you could just tell by the way tension flared.

Ralena gave a sigh of relief after she entered the safety and comfort of the castle, the Advisor looking at her with a small smile. She curtseyed to him and then turned now she had to get ready for the party afterwards. She made her way to her room but stopped abruptly when she got to her door.

There was a male leaning against her door and she knew instantly who he was, King Ephraim of Renais, and beside him was the Princess, Eirika. Both of them were smiling at her and she gave a smile to Eirika, for some reason she didn't like Ephraim as much.

"Oh, hi, you two must be the rulers of Renais," she spoke with as much confidence as she could muster.

"Yes, I'm sure you probably already know this, but this is Eirika and I'm Ephraim, pleasure," he said back to her with a small glint in his eye. He didn't like her that was clear already.

"Well, I'm Ralena, nice to meet you too," She replied. Eirika approached her and smiled happily, taking her hand into her own and looked at her earnestly.

"I do hope we become good friends, we have lots of wonderful friends and we would love you to be in that equation."

"I would love to be your friend Eirika, I really do." She replied with a small smile. She looked up and saw Ephraim scowling down at her and she winced, was she that atrocious?

"Well Eirika, I think we must take our leave don't you? I mean, we bothered the new Queen enough and she has to go and pamper herself for the party," he spoke with contempt and she looked at him surprised. Eirika released Ralena's hands and nodded, waving to her and walking off with her brother.

Ralena watched them go and shook her head, Ephraim didn't like her very much, but she would have to get over that. She stepped into her room and her maids waited her, putting on a pretty purple dress, royalty always wore purple in Grado, it was just custom. They took down her hair and brushed it, letting it fall down this time around her body. Next they put an amethyst necklace around her neck, small sapphires surrounding the large amethyst. When they were done, she looked completely different, not at all like her old self and she regretted it.

She was soon down the stairs and where the party was taking place with various royals, such as Innes and Tana of Frelia, L'Arachel of Rausten, Joshua of Jehanna, and the leader of Carcino. She saw Corning making his way to her to escort her, but then someone else entered her vision and it definitely wasn't her guard. It was Ephraim and he was telling Corning that he would escort her. He held out his arm and she growled to herself, but took it as the announcer announced her and Ephraim.

"What are you doing?" She asked quietly when they were descending down the stairs.

"Escorting you, what else?"

"It seemed to me that you never wanted to get any where near me Your Highness," she spoke coldly, going into her royalty mode. He cast a look at her and smiled slightly.

"Since when did you call me Your Highness?"

"Since when did you escort random girls into a ballroom?" she countered with rage. She didn't like the tone of his voice, almost as if he were patronizing her. They were now at the bottom of the steps and she curtseyed and went off in another direction, leaving him there. She continued to walk and went straight to the food table they had, she bent down and plucked a grape and slipped it into her mouth. She turned to leave once more and bumped into someone.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, but then she looked up and saw a gorgeous man before her.

He had brown hair that fell into brown eyes and she knew she just met the man of her dreams. He was tall, only slightly taller than Ephraim, but still looking damn fine. He had a good tone to his body, almost as if he worked out on a regular basis and did a great job at it too. He wore a blue outfit, the shirt pulling against his chest and the pants fitting perfectly to his legs, he looked like a God.

"It's alright," he said to her. She smiled slightly and he looked at her with the same smile.

"Oh, I haven't introduced myself right?" She asked a bit shocked at being so rude. "I'm-"

"You're Ralena, new ruler of Grado," He said immediately, cutting her off, but that smile made her know that he was teasing. She almost wanted to laugh, and he held out his arm to her, she took it instantly.

"So, let me guess, you're one of those old geezer advisors right?" She teased him with a sly look. He chuckled and perked an eyebrow at her with a quirk of his lips.

"Try again."

"Are you a…. bodyguard?" she asked with a little laugh. He shook his head and she raised her eyebrows. "A leader of a country I'm guessing?" she asked and he nodded, but you could tell he wanted to make her guess what country. "Are you with Jehanna?" She asked. He shook his head and she automatically knew. "You're King Innes of Frelia?! No way, that cannot be true, you so…." She said.

"Yes, I am, and why is that so hard to believe?" He asked with a frown.

"Don't get me wrong! There's nothing bad about you, it's just… I didn't expect a King like you, which you are rumored to be cold and mean, to be so… carefree and-"she cut herself off immediately and looked at him.

"And what?" he asked her in reply.

"Nothing, I swear it's nothing," she said, trying to drop the subject.

"Aw, come on, can't you tell me?"

"…. Oh alright, I'll tell," she said, throwing her other hand up in the air. I think you're amazingly… good looking, does that satisfy you now?" she asked with a glare. He smiled and nodded.

"Yes, yes it does," he replied with a little smile. Ralena pursed her lips and looked up at him, staring straight into those gorgeous brown eyes of his.

"Um…." She said, now a little bit nervous. Some music started up and she felt his eyes bore into hers.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked, bending over in a bow and holding out his hand after he released her arm. She laughed slightly and nodded, taking his hand as he led her to the dance floor.

She took her stance, her right arm on his left shoulder, her left hand entwined with his right. She noticed he interlaced their fingers and she looked up at him in surprise, normally this was a sign of affection, but maybe that was how things were done in Frelia. Then he gave her a smile and started to move with the dance movements, twirling her about and making her laugh in excitement. She was having the time of her life, until it was time for someone else to cut in, it was part of the dance after all. She curtseyed to her partner and turned to her right to see her new one. It was Ephraim.

Of all the worst luck he could have had, his next partner was that blasted Ralena. She didn't look too pleased to see him either and he noticed that she definitely preferred Innes' companionship than his. She curtseyed to him stiffly and he bowed before they took their stances. She twirled through the movements gracefully and effortlessly, it was almost as if she did it without a care in the world, little chit.

"Quit acting so stiff Ephraim, people are thinking I'm torturing you," she spoke in a whisper. He bent his body a bit more and relaxed slightly, but he was still aware of her presence.

"Then quit being a pain in the ass," he retaliated.

"Don't you ever say anything nice?" She hissed at him, her teeth clenched and her eyes glowering in anger.

"Of course I do, to Tana, you saw her, and she was my first partner, my sister, Innes, L'Arachel…" he trailed off with a smirk. Take that miss fancy pants.

"Someone other than the ones you already know, you're so mean to me and I've never done anything to you otherwise," She stated angrily. The song ended and she pushed herself away quicker than lightening and she walked off, her aura seething with fury as she left him. He smiled to himself, well, she was a spitfire, not at all proper for a Queen, but still, it would be entertaining to watch at least.

He turned and stopped abruptly as someone was looking up at him. It was Tana of Frelia, Innes' brother, and his and Eirika's dearest friend. Her dark blue gaze looked into his lighter blue one and she laughed slightly, her delicate mouth curved in a smile. Her purple hair was falling around her shoulders, but the top was done into some arrangement. She wore a light blue dress that had ribbons coursing throughout the embroidery and small sparkles shone up at him.

"Ephraim, hello," she spoke to him with a smile.

"Good evening Tana, I just spoke to you a few minutes ago," he said with a slight smile, she always put him in a good mood.

"Of course you did, but it's just proper to say hello once more." She trailed off for a few minutes before speaking again. "What do you think about the new Queen, Ralena? She's a gorgeous one, that's a fact, and Innes seems to like her well enough, but you, you seem as if she's the worst thing on the planet."

"What I think is of no concern to you Tana," He spoke gruffly. He didn't want to talk about the new Queen. She was a pain, stuck up and completely insufferable.

"Ephraim, no need to get angry, I just wanted to tell you that she is a nice person and I couldn't see why you dislike her so much, that's all I wanted to tell you," she spoke a bit affronted and then turned around, walking away, leaving him looking at her back, she was so… well, she was right.

He turned and went to go up the stairs sighing as he looked down at the people swirling in a mixture of colors. He shook his head and turned to a door, pushing it open he automatically knew it was the library, he stepped inside and as soon as he did, he regretted it immediately. Sitting on the bay window was his worst nightmare at the moment, Ralena.

She had a book in her lap and was reading by the moon light casting through the large window and her eyes were only focusing on that book. Her hair was falling over her shoulders, she obviously pulled it out of the arrangement she had and it was very wavy. Her back was up against the bay window's wall; her right hand on the book and her left on her neck as if she was holding it.

"Well, I never knew you could read," He said sarcastically, making her give a small mummer of surprise and look up instantly. Her eyes went instantly on guard and she stiffened automatically.

"What do you want?"

"Who said I came up here for you?" He retorted.

"I came up here to get away from it all and you had to bring it up here didn't you?" She asked with a bit more emotion than he ever heard from her. She snapped her book shut and stood up, her dress falling around her legs with ease and she raised her head elegantly and threw the book onto the bay window's cushion.

"Can you get into a conversation and try to be lady-like?" he said to her.

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Me: I'm so glad I finished this; it took me like… a week to complete this one chapter.

Sammie: No kidding, you nearly talked my ear off on the phone.

Me: I RESENT THAT! I can't help it…

Sammie: Uh-huh, like you can't help how ditzy you get at times too, maybe that time you dyed your hair sunk into your brain huh?

Me: -gaspness- HOW DARE YOU! I dyed my hair purely out of curiosity.

Sammie: And I'm sure the guy you got out of it meant nothing?

Me: Well I'll have you know it's perfectly back to brown… And anyways people. Give me flames, reviews, whatever, I could care less, just keep reading. 


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